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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 858 - July 17 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
FACING DOWN A MONSTER Ken Campbell of Commanders Weather, the experts who advise the competitors on weather conditions issued the following warning. "By Tuesday morning a large gale will have developed near southwest Ireland. Winds will likely be 30-40 knots with some gusts to 50 knots out of the west. These winds will build the seas to 15-20 feet by late in the day. Rough conditions will last into Wednesday as the low pressure will be slow to move east and weaken. The storm will be located over the English Channel on Wednesday and will continue to provide strong winds of 25-35 knots with some gusts to 45 knots." Commanders Weather predicts that by Thursday the wind will have abated and the weather will improve for all the yachts. The first yachts are expected to reach Baltimore on the East Coast of the United States by July 31. Leg 4 starts on August 5, 2001 and sails to Boston. The final leg returns to St. Malo, France where the first yachts are expected to finish the race between August 19 and August 22. Event site: www.edsatlanticchallenge.com
CHICAGO-MACKINAC As of 4:15 p.m. (EDT) 100 of the 297 boats had crossed the finish line. According to the Chicago Yacht Club Race Committee, light but variable winds are predicted to continue, making the race very unpredictable for racers still on the water.
Currently, the division winners are: Bill Alcott's Great Lakes 70 Equation leads the One Design Division with an adjusted time of 36:24:25. The One Design Division is comprised of five different classes, each made up of similar boats, with time adjustments made according to the predicted boat speed for the class. Gamera, a 27-foot trimaran owned by Matthew Scharl of the Midwest Open Racing Fleet is the preliminary winner of the open division (multi-hulled boats) with an adjusted time of 42:52:29. Within each division, preliminary winners in classes that have finished, include: PHRF 1 (boats with the largest handicaps) leader is Philip O'Niel's Natalie J, a Nelson 47 out of Bayview Yacht Club, PHRF 2 current winner is Tim Woodhouse's Rumours out of New York Yacht Club, a 35-foot sailboat. PHRF 3 leader is Bacchant. Great Lakes 70 class winner is Equation, which also earned one-design class First-to-Finish honors by edging out record holder Dick Jenning's Pied Piper by 22 seconds. Farr 40 class winner is Steven Mash's Hot Lips of Chicago Yacht Club, with the top five finishers in the class finishing within 12 minutes of each other. Complete results and tracking on the event site: www.sailnet.com/chicagomackinac
THIS WEEK
SHAKE-A-LEG WALL STREET AND CORPORATE CHALLENGE The corporate teams consisted of up to ten members of the 14-person 12-Meter crew. A sailing notable was assigned to each boat, with additional top sailors from Shake-A-Leg's adaptive sailing program leaving their wheelchairs on the dock to join the racing action. Sailing onboard the Friends of Shake A Leg #2 team was the 93-years-young Olin Stephens (Hanover, NH.), one of the world's most famous and prolific yacht designers. For Saturday's races, the team's boat draw was Columbia, which Stephens designed for the 1958 America's Cup. The event was presented by the Hyatt Regency-Newport on Goat Island, where race headquarters were established. Other sponsors were Cox Communications, JT's Ship Chandlery, Team One Newport, Wayne Distributors and Quinnipiac University. Full results are available at www.shakealeg.org or www.wsccc.org
RED, WHITE AND BLUE
DAVE ULLMAN INTERVIEW GPS: Have you changed the way you look at your sailing because of your America's Cup experience? DU: What I've had to change is how to integrate into a large group and how to be a positive force and help wherever I'm needed in a big group, which is different from what I've done. I've done Olympic coaching and individual coaching, but at the America's Cup level it is much more difficult. GPS: Are you looking forward to the America's Cup being over or the America's Cup happening? DU: Oh, the America's Cup happening! I'm really looking forward to going racing. When you're preparing for two years, it's time to go racing! It's a long way away, and there's tons of stuff to do, but when we go racing that will be the highlight. The America's Cup is interesting. You do all this preliminary work and, in some way, the results are already set--you just don't know what they'll be. You do all the prep and then you go racing to see how good of a job you did on the prep. GPS: From talking to folks at your Ullman Sails loft, it's a big deal not having you around. Was it a hard decision? DU: It was a very hard decision. This campaign absorbs a lot of hours, but I have a great team helping me out at my Newport Beach loft. The way I look at it--and I think a lot of the people in the Oracle Racing organization look at it this way--this is our best chance to win the America's Cup. It's pretty hard not to take the opportunity. Pretty difficult not to step up when it's such a good program. In my case I may never get a chance like this again. For the full interview (and a great story by Bob Fisher on the 12 Metres racing in the Berthon/Source Regatta), see www.sailingworld.com/gps/
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Ralph Taylor: While I don't think Denver is the source of the phrase,"blowing like stink", here it's literally true. When the wind stinks, brace for storms. Due to the stockyards in Greeley, a north or northeast wind brings the aroma to the entire metropolitan area. These winds also portend foul weather, as the updraft into the mountains generates storms which then drift eastward, carried by the jet stream. * From Malcolm McKeag: re Blowing like... Am I the only person who uses the expression 'it was blowing old boots...' Not in Ulster I'm not - but otherwise I've no idea where the expression comes from, or what it means - other than that it was blowing old boots... * From Victor Snyder: It's an ill wind when ya' can't spout off about the way it's a blowin'. I'll be a son of a gun if I might just say it's blowin' like stink when the dog is off the chain and I'm three sheets to the wind. I suppose we do need to be careful what we say in front of the li'l nippers, but not with those who know the ropes. We're on the wrong tack if we let them steer us to the politically correct course. What about that dolpin striker at the bow? Sounds like a pretty gruesome piece of hardware doesn't it? Let's lower the boom on these ner do wells and keep our colorful jargon. If you don't like it, then just don't speak it. I suppose next boats will be "it" instead of "she", and heaven knows what we'll be callin' a poop deck.
NEW AMERICA'S CUP BOOK Du Moulin officially contributed his business acumen, leadership qualities and organizational skills to seven campaigns and has served in unofficial advisory roles to all since then. "Throughout his memoirs, we get to meet and know some of the greatest contributors to the America's Cup, both from in front of and behind the curtains," said said Herreshoff Marine Museum President Halsey Herreshoff. A synopsis and order form is available at http://www.herreshoff.org or by contacting the museum at P.O. Box 450, Bristol, R.I. 02809-0450; phone 401-253-5000, fax 401-253-6222. Cost per copy is $19.95 (less $2 for Herreshoff Marine Museum members) plus $6.00 shipping and handling. All proceeds benefit the America's Cup Hall of Fame.
OCEAN FOURS ROWING RACE Together with John Ridgway, Sir Chay became the first British man to row across the Atlantic from Cape Cod on the North American coast to Ireland, in a 20ft open dory named English Rose III. A new 36ft ocean rowing boat has been designed by Phil Morrison from Rowsell and Morrison Boat Builders in Exmouth and will follow the same concept as the original two-man design. Made from Lloyds approved marine plywood and supplied to teams in laser cut kit, the new 36ft boat will be self righting and will include a radical seating arrangement to allow any combination of rowers. The rowers will set off, in early June 2003 from a destination (TBC) on the North American coastal line to Plymouth in the UK. For more information or to sign up your crew, check out the website at: www.challengebusiness.com/row
TRIPP 36 EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP
THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM |
